The law that shields police records, explained
Everything you need to know about 50-a and the campaign to repeal it
After years of pressure from activists and government officials, New York’s state legislature this year may finally repeal a law that shields police misconduct records from public view.
The law, known as 50-a, started to receive greater scrutiny since around 2014, when high-profile incidents of police violence forced criminal justice reform into the national conversation. The NYPD has repeatedly cited 50-a in its refusal to disclose the disciplinary history of Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who choked Eric Garner to death on Staten Island.
Now that the State Senate has come under Democratic control, lawmakers have their best chance in years to revise the provision or eliminate it altogether. Criminal justice activists and legal groups have long supported repealing the law, as have the families of New Yorkers who have been killed by the police.